Chefs at Craggy Range prepare curries to be donated to those in need. Photo / Hamish Bidwell.
Chefs at Craggy Range prepare curries to be donated to those in need. Photo / Hamish Bidwell.
It’s the photos that make Kristine Kilpatrick well up, not of the devastation caused to Hawke’s Bay or of people in distress.
No, it’s smiling, grateful, well-fed folk who have moved Kilpatrick to tears.
The Craggy Range HR and hospitality manager isn’t in the fine dining or wine-tasting business at the moment.
Kilpatrick and colleague Majda Falan, the guest relations manager, are instead coordinating the cooking and delivery of thousands of meals to those in need.
Craggy Range - and sister restaurant Mary’s in Havelock North - have closed their doors to customers in favour of producing food on an industrial scale.
Curries have been designated as the most efficient dish - complete with rice and bread - to feed the masses, with over 1500 meals delivered to evacuation centres, marae and hard-hit communities such as Puketapu, Bay View, Eskdale and Pakowhai on Sunday.
About 2000 meals were dispatched today and will be for the rest of this week. Freezer space has also been procured so that more curries can be provided in the weeks that follow.
“It’s quite overwhelming and humbling to see some of the photos coming back from those people - particularly in remote areas - who are enjoying a bowl of our curry,” Kilpatrick said.
Plenty of people are providing labour or expertise to those in need; in Craggy Range’s case, their speciality is food.
“We wanted to focus on something we know well and can do really well and our team is right behind it, which is amazing,” said Kilpatrick.
Staff members have been delivering many of the meals personally, in their eagerness to lend a hand in the best way they know how.
Craggy Range is not doing it entirely on its own, though.
Craggy Range staff members sort through items donated by the public. Photo / Hamish Bidwell.
Much of the produce used in the curries is coming from donations to their Waimarama Rd winery. They have been “inundated” with ingredients and offers of support, but are still seeking several items.
Canned tomatoes, canned chickpeas, rice, baker’s flour, macaroni, dairy products, meat and fresh vegetables are among the foodstuffs being gratefully received at the moment.
Catering company Orton’s has also provided equipment to enable Craggy to cook a volume of food to which they’re not usually accustomed.
“Everyone we’ve reached out to has come back with something. It’s been pretty incredible,” Falan said.
